In Simple and Sunny Salema life passes at a slow and easy pace in Salema. Each
morning, the fishermen push their small craft with a tractor over the beach and
head out into the mild Atlantic, veering west to parallel the coast and set
their nets. The beach beckons at an early hour and it's not hard to find the
perfect location near the cliffs to spread the towels and settle in for a
perfect day of lounging. Even in October the water temperature is perfect, and
Salema’s south-facing beach sits between golden cliffs at either end. The
village street winds up the cliff on the eastern end of the beach and the
Atlantico seems to serve as the dividing line between the tourist beach and the
working beach of the fishermen.

Portugal’s Algarve coast stretches approximately 150 miles from the Spanish
border, westward to Sagres at "Land’s End." Salema sits approximately 15 miles
east of this westernmost point. With almost every pretty beach now being
dominated by high-rise condos, similar to Spain’s Costa del Sol. Salema is still
an exception to that rule, and its relatively small beach will certainly limit
the development. If you’ve ever planned to visit the Portuguese coast, Salema is
still a magic slice of the Algarve. It’s a great place for a "vacation within a
vacation."

Salema Nearby Locations

The nearest town is Sagres located to the west. Also to west is Vila do Bispo
that acts as the administrative centre for the area and also houses a few good
fish restaurants. In the 8th Century about one kilometre to the southwest of
this town was the seat of a religious Order known as the Igreja de Corvo.
Founded by Christians from Valencia seeking refuge from the persecution of the
Spanish ruler Abderramão I, all visual traces have been removed in the course of
time. However, in the immediate vicinity are over 250 “megaliths” and other
signs of ancient civilization dating back thousands of years.

The area was recorded by the Moors as being very rich and providing hospitality
to all travellers regardless of their faith. From Sagres the traveller can
either go north or back to the east. Along the south coast just to the east is
the superb open beach of Martinhal that is popular with windsurfers. Further
east are the small and unspoilt beaches of Ingrina and Zavial, whilst further on
is the more developed beach of Salema. Just to the east of Vila do Bispo near
the small village of Raposeira is the modest 13th Century Chapel of Nossa
Senhora de Guadalupe, reputed to have been used often by Dom Afonso Henrique in
his religious devotion.

The beaches immediately to the north of the Cape are more exposed to the winds
and rollers of the Atlantic with quite dangerous offshore currents. Further to
the north of Vila do Bispo is the open sandy beach of Bordeira. About two-thirds
of the journey north to this beach is a turning left to the small village of
Pedralva. The village is now nearly completely unoccupied but it shows to the
traveller a picture of what the Algarve looked like prior to the invasion of
tourism and how life was once very demanding.